One nation under stress, racially divided with less liberty, justice for most

SUSAN K. SMITH |
4/10/2017, 2:30 a.m.

Susan K Smith

Crazy Faith Ministries

Since the 2016 presidential cycle, this nation has been a nation under stress, caused by the worse-than-usual political rhetoric spewed by the candidates, led by then-candidate Donald Trump.

Trump’s name-calling, his put-down of anyone and everyone who dared compete with him, his lies – all of it caused a fair amount of angst among Americans. The angst was exacerbated by a press that seemed to humor him and let him do and say pretty much what he said, not really challenging him or vetting his statements, and also by the fact that his supporters did not seem to care about what he said. Nothing could shake their support of this man, not even disparaging Senator John McCain or being caught on audio tape saying hideously crude things about women.

It seems that Hillary Clinton felt like she did not have to worry about winning the election, because surely Americans, in the end, would not elect such a crude and rude man. Surely Americans would not elect someone who said racist and sexist things, who drew rabid racists into his camp, who seemed to condone the violence at his rallies and who seemed to be an unapologetic ally of the Russians, inviting them to continue to hack into America’s cyber system.

We were America, after all. Candidates had been known to have been rejected by saying far less insulting and troubling things. Surely, Americans would rise to their reputation as being good, Christian people … or some such.

But we were all wrong. The people – not a majority but enough to put Trump over the top – rejected civility and chose rudeness, racism, sexism, Islamophobia. They cheered the awful language, the bragging, the put-downs and name-calling offered by the man who would be president and did just that – made him president.

To say that much of the nation was stunned is an understatement. Some of those who did not vote at all because they wanted Bernie Sanders and neither Clinton or Trump seemed as disconnected as they had been, but many who did not vote seemed surprised, and many who did vote fell into a depression fueled by anger which has not yet abated.

This man, surrounded by an avowed Leninist who has said he wants to disengage the “deep state,” Steve Bannon, and by others who seem to be sycophants, has in less than 100 days put the entire legacy and perhaps future of these United States in jeopardy. He has alienated allies, insulted world leaders and has signed a number of executive orders designed to undo much of what President Barack Obama did.

He has inspired and emboldened racists and created an atmosphere where immigrants, both legal and illegal, Muslims and others, are afraid to walk-in public or send their children to school. He has signed executive orders which will give corporations permission to use pesticides and chemicals which have been proven to poison our water and our soil.